Comfort
by ibelieveinguardianangels
Summary: "Valkyrie, how could you possible let me down?" The skeleton detective asked, his voice remaining soft." Valkyrie is upset and Skulduggery is there to provide some much needed comfort. (Sorry for the bad summary.)


**Whilst this isn't my first fanfiction, this is my first fiction for the Skulduggery Pleasant book series and I apologise if the characters seem to be a little, well, out of character. It's hurt/comfort as that is my comfort zone and I very rarely write anything outside of that box.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes.**

"Valkyrie," Skulduggery's deep voice pulled her from her thoughts as it drifted in from the partially open bedroom window. With a sigh and a grumble, the teenager pushed herself from her bed and opened the window further so that the anticipated detective could climb in the rest of the way without having to attempt to dislocate himself. By the time that he had entered the bedroom, Valkyrie had returned to her initial position sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall as she focused her attention on her thin fingers, picking at the skin around her nails. Wordlessly, the skeleton lowered himself onto the bed beside her.

"There's no-one in," Valkyrie murmured as Skulduggery attempted to make as little noise as possible. Being a skeleton, it wasn't exactly a hard feat, "it's parent's evening, they'll be at school with Alice and the reflection."

"Valkyrie," Skulduggery spoke softly, adopting a tone of voice that she didn't very often hear, "clearly Ghastly struck a raw nerve earlier with his comment." When Valkyrie opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, he raised a gloved hand, his shirt sliding down and revealing the tendon, muscle and skinless bone of his radius and ulna. "And I can understand why." He assured. "But it's very important for you to understand that Ghastly wasn't trying to be insensitive. For you, Valkyrie, family ranks very highly. For us, however, family has been long since gone." He spoke in his Irish brogue, his speech lowered and soothing as he tilted his head slightly. "I'm here to give you a choice." He informed, watching as Valkyrie immediately tensed, her shoulders rising slightly and her back straightening as her head snapped in his direction.

"A choice?" Valkyrie questioned in what only could be described as a squeak, clearly expecting the worse. Skulduggery could almost see the metaphorical cogs turning.

"Yes." Skulduggery affirmed. "Nothing to worry yourself about, admittedly." He assured her with a nonchalant flip of the hand. "We have an important case to finish, Valkyrie. However, I am prepared to provide you with some time off to spend with your family. Heaven knows you've earned it." Valkyrie could hear the reassuring smile in his voice as he tilted his head once more, his skull shifting a centimetre in her direction as he reached his glove-coated hands out, placing one gently on her left shoulder in an attempt to comfort her and the other in her lap, resting it over her own in an bid to halt her incessant picking as she made her fingers sore.

"What about the case?" Valkyrie inquired in an uncharacteristically quiet and unsure voice.

"I've no queries that Ghastly will find the time to be able to assist." Skulduggery offered reassuringly. "Of course, the choice is yours, Valkyrie. You are more than welcome to spend some time with your family. You've undoubtedly earned it."

"I don't know, Skulduggery." Valkyrie breathed in a shaky sigh, her usually confident voice tight as she tried to swallow the figurative lump in her throat that was making it difficult to breathe. "If I take the time off, I feel like I'm letting you down." Valkyrie's tone rose a few octaves as she attempted to force herself to remain calm. The last thing that she wanted to do was to break down in front of Skulduggery.

"Valkyrie, how could you possible let _me_ down?" The skeleton detective asked, his voice remaining soft.

"If I stay here then I miss out on important cases, I miss out on training and lessons." Valkyrie began to excuse, closing her eyes to fight back tears as she heard Skulduggery breathe out a knowing 'no'. "My family," Valkyrie started over, "they have each other. They have the reflection. But you, Skulduggery, you don't have anyone." She whispered as a single tear slipped down her cheek. "And I don't want you to be alone." At this the damn broke and she sighed shakily as more tears began to fall, gathering, like warm fingertips, on her chin.

At her words she heard Skulduggery sigh.

"Valkyrie, don't worry about me." The detective soothed as he shifted position so that his thin arm was wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. She instinctively leaned in, resting her head against his sternum, her hands fisting into his tailored suit; her tears dampening the material. "Now, surely that can't be comfortable." Skulduggery noted, his tone slightly amused, but made absolutely no move to shift her.

The pair fell into a silence that was seen to be interrupted only by the occasional sniffle emitting from the distressed teenager as she toyed with the bony sleuth's jacket. Valkyrie was frustrated with herself. She had made a promise that she wouldn't cry in front of him. Not again. But she'd failed.

"No worries." Skulduggery breathed, as though reading her mind. He tightened his grip on her as she relaxed into his embrace, slowly dozing off into a much deserved sleep and Skulduggery was thankful that when she awoke with a, hopefully, clear mind, she would be better at decision making.

 **I know that it's quite short, but I just wanted to get a feel for the characters before I think about writing any more.**

 **I'm open to prompts and suggestions, preferably hurt/comfort and I don't write romance stories.**

 **I'd love to know what you think.**

 **ibelieveinguardianangels**


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